JACKSONVILLE -- April 1, 2002 --
"The holocaust did happen, because we are witnesses of it," says Max
Herzel, age 71 of Birmingham.

He survived internment camps to come to
the safety of the United States during World War II. Herzel will share
his story at the 20th Annual Days of Remembrance of the Holocaust of
World War II at Jacksonville State University.

Days of Remembrance began as a memorial to the holocaust to help remind
students of the slaughter of 6 million people. It has grown from 25
students to as many as 250 from the campus and local communities.

The mission of Days of Remembrance is to "provide for appropriate ways
for the nation to commemorate the Days of Remembrance, as an annual,
national, civic commemoration of the holocaust, and to encourage and
sponsor appropriate observances of such Days of Remembrance throughout
the United States."

"People must understand the value of tolerance, understanding and
respect of individuals and their religion," says Herzel. During the
Remembrance, he plans to share his experiences as a child who lived
through the holocaust.

Herzel and his family were sent to an internment camp. "These were the
camps Jews were sent to before going to concentration camps. The women
and children were separated. Young children went with their mothers and
older children went with their fathers," recalls Herzel. "What was left of
our family came to the United States."

And this journey, he will recount at the Days of Remembrance Ceremony on
April 11 at 7:30 p.m. at Houston Cole Library, JSU. The public is
invited.

"There is a hope that it will never happen again. And it didn't just
happen to the Jews. It happened to the gypsies, the handicapped and
those who opposed the Nazis. All that knowledge from doctors, nurses
and engineers was used to destroy human life, instead of making it
better."